Imitation of Life
by Salemsoriginal99
Summary: My first mistake was that I didn't ask why we had to get the man. My second mistake was ignoring the fact that I should have gone with my instinct. And my third mistake... well, that was falling in love...
1. I Hate the Opera

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! Just this plot. **

_"Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship." _**-Oscar Wilde**

Hermione's POV.

* * *

"You want to know a secret?" 

I smiled but shook my head, trying my best to ignore him while the man on the stage continued to sing.

"Yes you do."

"Shut up," I whispered, noticing the glances we were getting by an old woman near by.

He was silent for a while before leaning in again.

"This is _so_ boring."

I smiled again but didn't answer, trying to listen to the man on stage. I knew he was just trying to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't going to let him. Two others had joined the man on stage and they were now dancing to the orchestra music. Ron leaned towards me and, instead of saying anything, began kissing my neck. At this point, shockwaves were running up and down my body at the contact as my eyes grew wide and I turned to him.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged.

"I'm bored."

The woman in front of us turned around in his seat and gave Ron a nasty look. Ron just stared at her until she turned around before turning back to me who by this time was bright red at Ron's boldness.

"Stop it, Ron," I whispered before turning back to the play. Sighing, Ron leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. I could still feel his eyes on me, which made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. He smiled at me for some reason and leaned in again, wanting to get a rise out of me.

"Why the _hell_ would anyone want to come to this?"

"Ron," I hissed in a scolding manner. "_Shut up_."

He just smiled at me and leaned back in his seat. I sighed and turned back to watching the stage intently, my vision moving from the women in the back to the first man what was now singing by himself again. Two men in red gowns were moving across the stage towards the man, holding pitchforks and had horns on their heads. Ron snorted.

"Here comes the cavalry," he muttered, watching as they dragged him off the stage as he sang his last mournful tune.

I shot him a look while trying not to smile. I knew that if I did smile, he'd get the best of me. The curtains closed and the speakerphone announced an intermission in German. Ron shot up out of his seat and was the first to get to the exit while I took the time to apologize to the man he had accidentally knocked over in his eagerness to get out. I then found him outside in the corner, looking around while waiting for me. I walked up to him and hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?"

I glared at him. "For being a prat. People could hear you and your complaining."

Ron shrugged, rubbing the feeling back into his shoulder. "Well, it was a stupid play anyway."

I shook my head at him. "Well, you're just going to have to endure it. There's at least two more hours left," I told him, smiling when a look of dread came over him. I then frowned. "Why'd you kiss me?" I asked.

Ron went bright red and was about to answer when someone interrupted them.

"Hermione! Hermione Granger!"

I looked around in surprise to see a young man around my age waving to me. Surprised, I smiled brightly, beckoning him over.

"Friederich Orwell!" I greeted, watching as he took my hand and kissed it elegantly. He was taller than me, almost as tall as Ron. Almost. He had dirty blonde hair with the most beautiful blue eyes. He was named one of the most handsome men in Europe for a reason.

"Wie geht's, mein Schatz! Ich dachte, daß du in London wohntest," he said. **_How are you, my love! I thought you lived in London._**

I nodded. "Ich wohne in London, aber ich besuche einen Freund in Wien für eine Weile," I lied. **_I do live in London, but I'm visiting a friend who lives in Vienna for a while. _**

Ron coughed politely, not understanding a single thing I had just said. We then turned to him as if he hadn't been there at all. I suddenly blushed slightly and looked back at Friederich.

"Friederich, dieses ist mein Freund, Ronald Weasley. Ron, this is Friederich," I told them.

Friederich's eyes suddenly got large and a smile came to his handsome features.

"Dieses ist Ron Weasley? Der sehr gleiche Ron Weasley, den du in der Schule mochtest?" he asked cheekily. **_This is Ron Weasley? The very same Ron Weasley that you had a crush on in school?_**

I went from pink to red in a matter of seconds, the feelings of my past reminding me of the feelings I had now. I thanked God that Ron couldn't understand German or this situation would have been very awkward.

"Nein, Friederich. Ich mochte er nicht. Er ist mein Freund." **_I don't like him. _**

Friederich smiled.

"Ja gut denke ich, daß es Oscar Wilde war, das sagte, daß zwischen Männern und Frauen es keine mögliche Freundschaft gibt. Es gibt Neigung, übelwollen, Anbetung, Liebe, aber keine Freundschaft," he replied. **(Read the quote, he's being a smartass)**

I gave him a dark look.

"Er ist mein _Freund_," I stressed.

Friederich shrugged.

"Du kannst Freunde jetzt sein, aber Magie hat eine Weise des Änderns jener Sachen." **_You may be friends now, but magic has a way of changing things._**

"Ruhig sein, Friederich! Jemand könnte dich hören," I hissed. "Außerdem wie ich vor sagte, sind wir gerechte Freunde." **_Someone could hear you. Besides, like I said before, he's just a friend._**

"Ich kenne nicht, Hermione. Du zwei schautest während der zweiten Tat recht bequem," he said with a wink. **_I don't know, Hermione. You two looked pretty close during the second act._**

I was about to retort when the lights started to flash, indicating that we should get back in. Friederich smiled and waved before following the crowds in. Ron still looked confused.

"What did he say?"

I shook my head, turning back to look up at him.

"Nothing. Just… nothing," I muttered. "Let's just get this over with. We've been Ie for five days and haven't seen anyone. I'm getting tired," I told him before moving towards the doors.

Ron was about to follow before stopping.

"Hey Hermione," he called.

I turned around expectantly.

"What?" I asked.

He walked over to me and spoke as he passed me.

"I never told you that you looked really beautiful tonight," he said before disappearing through the doors.

I stopped after hearing this, surprised that he would say something like that. Then, with my heart pounding and a small smile on my face, I followed him in.

* * *

It was only twenty minutes into the second half when Ron noticed that something funning was going on in the back of the stage where three women were supposed to be standing, talking among themselves. However, someone else dressed in black robes had come out and joined them, forcing the women to go towards him, obviously telling him to get off stage without attracting too much attention. He took hold of my hand and shook it, inclining his head towards the side of the stage where he had noticed the disturbance. I became still as well, watching the robed figure push past the women. 

"You need to close the curtains," Ron whispered urgently.

I turned to him in surprise. "Ron, no!" I hissed quietly. "There are Muggles back there."

"If we don't do anything, there's going to be a dead wizard back there," he retorted angrily, pulling out his wand.

I reached out and grabbed it, pushing his hand down between our legs, turning my full attention to him.

"I said no," I hissed.

"Hermione," Ron growled, his eyes on the moving black figure on stage. The figure had now attracted much more attention from the cast, many of them forgetting that they were supposed to be singing while wondering what the guy was doing on stage, heading for the main singer. Just then the Death Eater pulled out a long wand and Ron stood up.

"Do it!" he hissed.

My heart was pounding as there as a crack beside me, attracting everyone's attention on their balcony as I flicked my own wand to the curtain, watching as it suddenly dropped in front of everyone on stage. Suddenly there was a large bang and the curtain caught on fire, causing everyone in the theater to scream. I was pushed towards the exit as people began to leave. I began to push my way through the crowds, knowing that there were too many people to be able to apparate safely. I made it to the stair case and began shoving my way through the people, which wasn't easy in the long black dress I was wearing. I made it to the main level and tried to get to through the doors that everyone else was trying to get out of. By this time the fire was covering most of the curtains and the distant sounds of sirens could be heard as I made my way to where the orchestra once was. Hitting the railing, I looked around to see if there was anyone around before jumping down onto the conductor's podium, wincing when my foot twisted painfully. Muttering under my breath about heels, I started towards the doors and found my way to the backstage area where several of the performers still were, pointing to a hall where apparently something had happened.

"Entschuldigung sie bitte, hast du gesehen einen hohen Mann mit dem roten Haar, hier vorbeizugehen?" I asked urgently. **_Have you seen a tall man with red hair go by here?_**

One of the ladies who had first seen the man on stage nodded.

"Ja lief er Solomon nach. Er wurde von einem Mann in den schwarzen Roben gejagt. Er ging diese Halle hinunter," she answered, motioning to the hall. **_Yes, he ran after Solomon. He was being chased by a man with black robes. He went down that hall._**

"Danke," I said before starting off down the hall. The farther down the hall I got, the more noises I could here.

"Ron!" I called.

"Hermione, stay back!"

I stopped all of a sudden, having rounded a corner to see Ron holding the man in black robes against the wall. Ron's wand was digging into the man's neck while his own wand was on the ground close to the singer who he had been trying to kill. The singer, Solomon, was sitting on the ground, leaning his back on the wall and taking deep breaths while holding his arm which looked singed, which explained the fire. I was about to go over to him when Ron stopped me.

"I said stay back," he shouted again, not taking his hands off of the Death Eater. "Who are you?!" he asked.

"Ich bin ein Kurier gerecht, zum deinem kleinen Freund einer Anzeige zu geben! Aber ich vermißte."

"What did he say, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"He wants to give Solomon a message, but he missed," I replied, moving to the opposite wall so that I could see the face of the man Ron had hold of. The man looked at me and an evil smile came on his face.

"Nahrung kann mir helfen zu überleben, aber Wasser tötet mich. Was sind ich? Und was ist jedesmal es hatte gesprochen defekt?" **_Food can help me survive, but water will kill me. What am I? And what is broken everytime it's spoken?_**

Ron slammed the butt of his wand against the man's head, glaring at him.

"You talk to me, not her," he growled dangerously.

I, however, knew that what he had just said was important.

"Was hast du gesagt?" I asked, stepping closer. **_What did you say?_**

The man smiled and then suddenly he burst into flames, surprising everyone in that hallway. I started screaming as Ron stumbled back, watching in horror as the man crumpled and writhed into ashes. My heart was pounding so loud, I had a feeling Ron could hear it.

"What the hell was that?" Ron asked, eyes on the pile of ashes and the scorched wall.

I was about to say something when I heard voices coming towards them.

"Ron… Let's just take Solomon back to the hotel. The Muggle police are coming," I said.

Ron nodded, eyes still on the wall as I hurried over to Solomon.

"Can you stand?" I asked. Solomon nodded and I helped the man up.

Ron turned away from the dead Death Eater and went to help.

"I hate the Opera," he commented before we disapparated.

**A/N: Ok, I know I have two other stories out, but don't worry, they will be finished. I just thought I'd try something different. I've never done a first person POV, so I decided, what the hell? Why not? I just want to say, I didn't decide to do the first person POV thing until I had written three chapters of this story, so I had to go through the whole thing and rewrite it, so if you see something like a typo or something that just doesn't look right for the next two chapters, then I'm sorry. Otherwise, enjoy!**

**Chapter Tease:**

_A broken lamp was lying on the ground with a cracked picture frame lying close by. Looking closer, I could see that it was the picture of me and Ron, taken a few months ago at lake at Hogwarts. But what caught my eye was a smear on the wall. It was blood. _

**I _do_ realize that many of you can't speak German, but I was just being lazy. Sorry. **


	2. Saying Sorry

**A/N: Here it is. **

_Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. _**-Paul Boese**

Hermione's POV

* * *

I found myself sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, sitting at one of the tables, ignoring Ron and Harry as we went on and on about Quiddich. You see, the Quiddich World Cup had been going on while Ron and I were in Austria, giving Harry the _perfect _opportunity to make Ron feel miserable. Unfortunately for me and maybe the two other women sitting with their excited boyfriends near by, the Leaky Cauldron still reeked of firewhiskey and was still carrying a few stragglers who had not made it back to their homes. Or maybe they lived here? Both ways, they were still intoxicated and making a big deal over the fact that Victor Krum was actually from Bulgaria.

My mind was still on the event that had happened only yesterday, back in Austria with the Death Eater. He had told me a riddle. I had already solved it, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Solomon had been put under the Ministry of Magic's control and the Aurors weren't allowed to see him without the Minister's approval. Harry and Ron had tried to get permission, but the Minister was in no way interested in giving them permission, especially after what had happened last year when Harry had made a particularly nasty comment about the rumored affair the Minister had had with a substitute teacher at Hogwarts.

This restriction led to my confusion. The Minister had been the one to ask Ron to go get Solomon in the first place. Whether or not he had given Ron a reason was still a mystery to me, but the reason the Minister had asked me to _go_ with Ron, was not. The Minister needed Solomon completely healthy when he came to England and the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Austrian Ministry were not on best terms. The Minister didn't trust the Austrian hospital to do a good job.

"Hermione. Hermione!"

I jumped and looked around, blinking rapidly while the men just stared at me.

"You ok?" Harry asked.

I then realized that I must have drifted off in me own world and thoughts. I put on a smile and nodded.

"I'm fine, Harry. I was just thinking about that Death Eater," I told them.

Ron groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Please don't, 'Mione. I'm tired of hearing about that stupid riddle and thinking about that combusting Death Eater. We can't see Solomon so let that be the Ministry's problem, not ours," he said, taking a swig of butterbeer. "So drop it."

I glared at him.

"Drop it? Why would you want to drop it when someone's life could be in danger?" I asked.

Ron didn't bother looking at me.

"Because he's not my problem anymore," he replied.

I could feel the blood flood to my face as the anger flared.

"Why you arrogant prick!"

"Why? Because I don't give a damn about that stupid riddle?"

"No! Because you don't give a damn about anyone's life!"

The moment those words spilled out of my mouth, I regretted saying them. Harry's eyes went wide and he kind of scooted back, knowing that I had made a mistake as well. Ron's face went completely pale and his eyes seemed to flare dangerously as his muscles flexed.

"I don't give a damn? _I_ don't give a damn?" he asked quietly, making me even more sorry I had said those words. But instead of blowing up like Harry and I thought he would, he just stood up and left, going out the back towards Diagon Alley. I sat there quietly, looking down at my hands feeling ashamed of myself. Harry was quiet for a while as well before turning to me.

"You shouldn't have said that," he whispered.

"I know, Harry," I muttered. I kept my eyes down, knowing that looking directly at him would make me feel much worse.

"You should go apologize."

I finally looked up, giving him a look as if he were crazy.

"What?"

We both knew very well that he was in a dangerous mood and that I was in no way interested in causing him to explode on me. Harry, however, knew that if I didn't apologize, he would have to deal with the unbearable tension between the two of us for the next couple of weeks until Ron decided it would be ok to talk to me again. Even then, the awkwardness of our conversations would make Harry wish that we weren't talking to each other at all. I knew he needed me to apologize, not just for our sake, but for his.

"Apologize, Hermione, or you're going to regret it."

I was about to reply, but instead I deflated and nodded silently, getting up and disapparating.

* * *

"Ron… Ron, please let me in. I came to say that I was sorry, please just let me in," I called through the door, my heart pleading for the door to open. I knew why Harry was so bent on me apologizing and didn't want that to happen. When the door didn't open I took out my wand and tapped the lock, watching it glow before turning the knob and entering his flat.

I shed my coat and hung it on the small rack and set down my bag. I moved down the small hall into the living room and looked around, noticing signs of Ron's anger. A broken lamp was lying on the ground with a cracked picture frame lying close by. Looking closer, I could see that it was the picture of me and Ron, taken a few months ago at lake at Hogwarts. But what caught my eye was a smear on the wall. It was blood. Biting my lip, I followed the smear down the other small hall to Ron's bedroom. There was no one there, but the bathroom light was on, so I stepped into the bedroom and went over to the bathroom door. Peeking in, I froze at what I saw. Ron was standing there, leaning against the sink with both hands. One of them was bleeding, dripping from the sink onto the floor and running down into the sink drain. He wasn't paying his hand any attention however. He wasn't wearing a shirt and he was staring at his chest in the mirror. That's when I had to look away and pull away from the door, pressing my back against the wall as I closed me eyes.

"_RON, NO!"_

_A body fell from the second story window with an awful sound as it hit the ground below._

I opened my eyes, trying desperately to rid myself of those images that haunted me at night.

"Breaking and entering is a crime, you know," came Ron's voice from the bathroom.

I took a deep breath and appeared in the bathroom door.

"I just wanted to say that I was sorry… for what I said before," I added, my eyes down as Ron turned to face me. I still couldn't bring myself to face the scars of our past.

"You said I didn't give a damn about anyone's life," he said in a tone that caused shivers down my spine.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Ron," I repeated, still looking down.

Ron watched me for a moment then took a step towards me.

"Look at me, Hermione."

"Ron, please," I begged.

He knew that I hated talking about what had almost happened. The whole thing had scared me to no end and I wanted everything to forget it. But he would make me see the evidence of what had happened.

"Look at me, Hermione," he said again in a tone that commanded my obedience. He watched me as I closed my eyes and lifted my head before opening them again. My eyes immediately traveled to his chest where a long jagged purple and black scar ran from his right shoulder all the way across his chest in a diagonal fashion. There were smaller purple and black scars running around his chest from the big one, making a beautiful and frightening pattern at the same time. But with this scar came awful memories of the time before and following the incident that led to the scar. They flooded my mind and caused the tears to flow as I turned away, leaving the bedroom. Ron followed me out, finding me sitting on the couch, crying into me hands. I hated crying in front of Ron, but some how ever since we had left Hogwarts he had managed to find me crying.

"That's my fault," I cried into my hands, my shoulders shaking.

"No it's not, Hermione."

I nodded.

"Yes it is," I cried, looking up at him through teary eyes. "If I hadn't…" I couldn't finish and a fresh batch of tears spilled out over my cheeks as I began to sob again.

Ron was silent for a moment before he walked over to me, sitting down beside me.

"Please don't cry, Hermione. I hate it when you cry," he whispered.

I hiccupped and then took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down as I looked over at him.

"I shouldn't have said that. You do care, I was just-"

"Being annoying," he finished.

I let out a small sound that sounded halfway between a sob and a laugh as I wiped my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, sighing.

Ron watched me carefully.

"So am I," he answered.

I nodded and looked down at his hand.

"You're hurt," I pointed out.

He looked down at his hand as if just realizing this and put on a wane smile.

"Yeah… I guess I was a little pissed," he muttered.

I flinched at his tone but stood up. I took his other hand and tugged him to stand up.

"Come," I whispered before leading him back to the bathroom. I turned on the faucet and took his hand, placing it under the water. We were both silent as blood mixed with water and washed down the drain, along with the blood that had stained the sink. I was doing my very best to avoid staring at his scar, the memories of it to great for me to face.

I then rummaged through his cabinet, looking for some bandages while he watched me silently, unnerving me. I hated it when he watched me with those blue eyes. I felt as if he could tell what I was thinking. He probably could.

As I waved my wand over his wound, he continued to watch me as if contemplating whether or not to speak. When I was finally done, he did speak.

"Why did you cry?" he asked quietly.

I looked up into his eyes and suddenly the bathroom felt too small. I then realized how close I was to him, but also realized that somehow I was trapped between the sink and him. The only way to get out was to touch him and that was something I did not want to do at that particular moment.

"I… I…" I was once again trying not to look at his scar. "I really don't want to talk about this, Ron," I whispered.

"Hermione-"

"Do you know how I felt? When I saw you fall out that window," I cut in, looking down at my hands, tears coming to me eyes once more. I didn't know what it was about this man, but some how he always seemed to make me cry. "We had gotten into a horrible fight and I had said things…"

Ron shook his head, taking my face in his hands.

"It wasn't your fault, Hermione. I should have never-"

"It was I fault!" I snapped, pulling away from his touch. "It was I fault that you almost…" I let out a sob and placed a hand on my mouth as I tried to keep it together. "I would have never forgiven myself… I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to tell you that-" I suddenly stopped, growing red.

"Tell me what?" he asked.

I looked up at him and I knew he could tell that I was dying to say what he knew I wanted to say.

"That I… I…"

That's when our lips met and everything else was forgotten. It was a comforting kiss that quickly heated up, fueled by the fact that I had burst into a fresh set of tears.

I _really_ needed to stop crying.

Ron's hands came up to my face, holding me close as he deepened the kiss. I raised my hands up to his chest, causing him to flinch and caused us both to pull away from each other.

My eyes had fallen to his scar once more and before he knew it, I had moved around him and fled from the bathroom.

"Hermione!" he called, following me out to the small hallway by the front door. I was just grabbing me coat when he reached me. He grabbed it as well and I spun around in surprise, biting me lip when I saw the look in his eyes.

"I've got to get to work," I lied, tugging on me coat. I had the undeniable urge to be as far away from him as possible. Instead of answering me, he stepped closer until he once again had me pinned against the wall. I hated it when he did that. He raised a hand to my chin, forcing me to look at him before leaning in.

"Ron," I whispered, my whole being full of hesitation. Then we kissed, this time taking it slow, allowing the other time to become accustomed to the other. I then pulled away slightly, keeping my eyes closed as I struggled with my conscience, which was telling me to leave while my heart was telling me to stay where I was. I then leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "I've got to get to work," I whispered in to his ear before moving around him and grabbing my bag. I hesitated at the door then opened it and left.

**A/N: I hope you liked it!**

**ronandmion4ever:** I'll do my best to ignore that little review. As for me knowing French, I used to be able to speak some french when I was like six or seven, but I can't speak it now. That whole thing was a translator, but I _do_ speak German.

**Starburstgoddess27:** Thanks for reading!

**rhinopants:** Will do!

**Linwe Elendil:** Don't worry about the German. I'll translate for you!

**Wesker888:** It is different than the others, but I don't know about the horror/suspense of "Fun and Games". I think it's more like the tension/suspense of "Time Changes Everything." But who knows? You may be right. I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this story. It's pretty much writing itself.

**gummyvites:** Thanks for the opinions. I was actually going to translate, but I'd forgotten to until I read your review. It should be updated. Thanks for taking the time to point it out though. Hope you like the story!

**Anyhoo! I hope you are all enjoying this. R/R!**

**Chapter Tease:**

_Are you going to kill your friend before I have a chance to explain?" Harry asked, his voice sounding hysterical._


	3. Explanations

**A/N: I am soooooooooooooooooo bored.**

_Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres._  
- **by 1 Corinthians 13:4-7** -

Ron's POV

* * *

I tried to be as indistinctive as possible as I passed by Harry's office. It had been three days since the incident between me and Hermione and Harry had not heard a thing about what had happened. He actually hadn't seen me or Hermione since the Leaky Cauldron so he was interested in what had happened. Hermione, who worked at St. Mungos, had had her hands full for the past three days and I had just been avoiding Harry so that I wouldn't have to be the one to explain what had happened. That entailed me not coming into work for the past three days, which pissed Moody off.

Smiling, Harry entered my office, closing the door behind him.

"Sod off, Harry," I muttered as I went through a filing cabinet.

Harry's smile broadened.

"It must be something big if you're getting so worked up about it," he replied cheerfully.

I sighed and sat down, placing a file in front of me.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said simply, meeting Harry's happy gaze with one of boredom.

Harry didn't falter one bit, but sat down in front of my desk.

"Well, how was it?" he asked, smiling knowingly.

I looked down at the file.

"Wet," I muttered.

Harry burst out laughing, the memories of fifth year racing back to me in a flash.

"Was it before or after you kissed her?"

I turned red.

"A little bit of both," I answered.

Harry frowned.

"She was crying _before_ you kissed her?"

I sighed, looking up at my friend.

"She hasn't gotten over what happened two years ago," I told him.

Harry nodded understandingly.

"Well, it was a hard time for her. You two had gotten into a _pretty_ nasty fight. I think it was probably your worst fight ever. I don't think I've ever seen her so scared," he whispered.

I noticed the look he had from the memories of what had happened after my near death and sighed.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore," I muttered, going back to my file. "I'm alive and she seems to want to forget what happened."

"I won't forget."

Harry and I looked up to see Hermione standing at the door, a small smile on her face as she sat down beside Harry. My heart began to race as I looked over her. She was wearing her Healer robes, but she still looked beautiful.

"And I don't appreciate that little reference between Cho and I," she told Harry.

I frowned.

"You were listening that long?"

Hermione didn't reply and Harry shrugged.

"Well, you have to admit, the circumstances are pretty similar. You're feeling guilty. She was feeling guilty. The guy you were dating die-"

"That's enough, Harry," I snapped, noticing Hermione as she went red. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione straightened and looked around my office.

"I was here to talk to Ginny and decided to stop by before I went to her office," she explained as she stared at one of the pictures on the wall.

Harry couldn't help but ask, "Did you come straight to Ron's office or did you see if I was in mine?"

Hermione turned to him.

"I didn't bother looking into your office, Harry, because I knew you'd be in here, harassing Ron," she answered before standing up.

"I should probably go anyway. I passed Moody on the way down here and he didn't look to happy. I think he was looking for you, I," she added, moving towards the door. "I'll see you guys later." She left.

I glanced over to Harry, who was giving me looks that clearly said for me to follow her. I then got up and walked to the door, leaning out.

"Hermione!"

She stopped and turned around, frowning.

"Yes?"

I motioned for her to come over and she did, stopping right in front of me.

"What is it?" she asked.

I hesitated for a moment then sighed.

"About what happened-"

Hermione leaned in and brushed her lips against mine. For just that second, my heart soared as her soft lips moved against mine slowly. Pulling away, she looked into my eyes.

"We'll talk tonight. I'll come back here," she whispered before leaving. I watched her go before returning to my office. As I sat down at my desk, Harry smiled at me.

"Well, was it wet this time?"

"Git."

Harry smiled and was getting up when he stopped and grinned at me.

"What?" I asked, afraid that if I didn't ask, he'd come over and hug me.

"Guess what I've got."

I frowned.

"What?"

Harry's grin broadened.

"The whereabouts of a certain Nanking Solomon," he told me.

"What?! How did you get that?" I asked, surprised and elated at the same time.

Harry shrugged.

"Ginny happens to be friends with the Minister's secretary. The girl owed Ginny one, so I got Ginny to ask for the file."

I couldn't help but smile as I leaned back in my chair.

"So we're back to our old tricks. Breaking the law?"

Harry shrugged again.

"Hey, I'm doing this for Hermione. She really wants to know why this guy's so important, and quite frankly, I'm interested in wondering why they sent you two out to Austria without any explanation."

I frowned, remembering the conversation the Moody had had with me before I had gone over to the hospital to explain things to Hermione. Moody had actually threatened my job when I asked why I was going, which is why I wasn't too eager to ask again. But now that Harry had the file, I wouldn't have to ask.

"Well, I can't look at it now, but tomorrow, we'll go over it," I told Harry, pointing to the large stack of papers sitting on my desk. Harry nodded and smiled, leaving my office.

* * *

"He will not be there tonight. We need to find out where they're keeping Solomon! You know your job. And if you see the Two, then I bestow upon you the honors."

"I will do what I am told."

"Good. You will be blessed in your next life."

"Thank you, my lord, for using me as a vessel to bring back the sacred one."

* * *

"Moody must have been pretty angry."

I smiled and looked up to see Hermione standing there again, only this time there was no wise-cracking Harry to distract us from the reason she was here.

"It seems that playing hooky has serious consequences," I replied, watching her smile as she entered the office and sat down in front of me.

"How was work?" I asked.

She looked up at me.

"Oh, we were just a bit busy today. It seems that Fred and George were experimenting with a few new goods and we ended up having some of there customers," she told me.

I shook my head and looked back down at the large stack of files on my desk.

"Pricks," I muttered under my breath.

Hermione watched me write some things down then looked around.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked casually, though the moment the words spilled out from her lips my heart started racing. I looked up at her for a moment then down at my hands.

"You left quite fast, 'Mione."

"I was confused."

"What about now?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" I asked, anger suddenly replacing my curiosity at this point.

Hermione seemed to flare up as well, agitated by the fact that I had the audacity to ask her that question.

"I mean I don't know, Ron. I don't want that to happen again."

I stood up.

"What does that have to do with us?"

Hermione stood up, glaring at me. I don't know how we had suddenly lost the pleasant atmosphere we had once been in, but I know that if we didn't get things out in the open, Hermione's mood would make the rising tension unbearable.

"Everything! It has _everything _to do with us, Ron. I can't let history repeat itself. You know just as well as I do that we are right under Harry's name on the Death Eaters hit list… If something like that happened again… and you didn't make it," she whispered, trying her hardest not to cry. I knew she didn't want me comforting her. If I comforted her we'd forget everything that we had been waiting to say to each other and then the whole thing would be pointless. For both our sakes, she could not cry.

That didn't, however, stop me from becoming frustrated by her excuses.

"Dammit, Hermione!" I shouted, causing her to flinch. "Something like that is going to happen again!"

"NO!" she screamed, surprising herself as well as me. She then just glared at me for what seemed like forever then she looked away, silent. I watched her for what seemed like forever then moved around the desk.

"If I had died, what would you have not been able to tell me?" I asked.

She looked up, her face growing a rosy color as she stared at me.

"I… I…"

I leaned in and kissed her softly. I knew I should have waited but she looked so beautiful that I couldn't help myself. We stood there for a while, kissing each other when Hermione suddenly slapped me, pulling away and glaring at me.

"What the hell?" I yelped, clutching the side of my face.

"I'm trying to tell you something," she snapped angrily.

I couldn't help but smile, which seemed to anger her even more. Instead of speaking, she turned around and walked towards the door. I knew I had upset her but I couldn't just let her walk out that door yet so I grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"What did you want to say?" I asked, silently pleading that she'd say it.

She pulled her arm away angrily and straightened her robes.

"I wanted to tell you that I loved you, but since you're acting like a prat, I think I'll just-"

Once again our lips were moving against each others, taking Hermione by surprise as she allowed me to kiss her. I effectively moved us around so that I had her pinned against the wall, our kisses growing more heated as Hermione's confession began to sink in.

She loved me!

Hermione's hands snaked around my neck and up into my hair, tugging my head closer to her as she deepened the kiss. Soon, I descended down her jawbone to her neck, where I teased her, causing her body to shiver. We both were getting used to this new sensation that was coursing through us when Hermione stopped me.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"What?" I asked, watching her as she looked around.

She shrugged. "I don't know what it was," she whispered. Then I heard it. The distinct sound of footsteps coming towards us. I grabbed her arms and pushed her closer to the wall as I leaned towards the door, looking out.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

I took out my wand and opened the door, stepping out into the hall. I then frowned upon realizing who it was.

"Ginny?"

My sister looked up from the door to Harry's office and frowned as well.

"I? What are you doing here so late?"

"I'd ask you the same question, seeing as you don't work in Harry's office," I replied pointing to the door she was trying to get into.

Ginny sighed, turning towards me.

"I left some stuff in my office a few days ago and I need to get it back before tomorrow. I didn't have theme to get it this morning," she explained before tilting her head to the side. "What's your excuse?"

Hermione appeared at the door besides me and Ginny grinned.

"I thought so," she muttered as Hermione blushed but not before Harry appeared, coming down the hall towards his office. Ginny actually looked surprised and my frown returned.

"Harry? I thought you'd gone home," I said.

Harry shrugged. "I had some stuff to get," he said before looking down at Ginny, who still looked surprised and slightly confused.

"Harry… I thought I just-"

Instead of waiting for her to finish, Harry took her hand and pulled her to him.

"I had to come back for some things. Come on, I'll help you look for your stuff," he said before letting her in. We watched him look up at us and smile before going into his office and shutting the door. I stared for a moment then shrugged, closing my door.

"He better not be snogging her in there," I muttered, the idea of Harry and my sister snogging disturbing me. I was ok with them dating as long as I didn't have to see the more intimate parts of their relationship.

Hermione seemed preoccupied with something when I turned to her.

"What is he doing here?" she asked.

I shrugged, wanting to get back to our previous exploit. I leaned in and began to kiss her neck as she still contemplated Harry.

"Who cares?" I mumbled into her skin.

Hermione pushed my head away and looked at me.

"You should. Didn't he say he was-"

There was a sudden scream that was cut off short before there was the sound of broken glass and the slamming of a door. I pulled away from Hermione instantly and yanked the door open in time to see Harry running down the hall and out of sight. My heart was pounding as I ran over to Harry's open office door and froze in horror. All else disappeared. In the middle of the office floor, lay Ginny, a blood pooling around her limp, pale body. I hadn't even realized Hermione was standing beside me as rage boiled up inside me along with the fear for my sister. Before Hermione could say anything, I had taken off after Harry, leaving Hermione with Ginny. When I got to the elevators, there was no one there, but I could here the sound of footsteps against the hard floor as someone ran away. Looking over the railing, I could see the robes of Harry Potter disappear down a hall. Feeling the rage grow inside of me, I flicked my wand and disapparated, appearing by the entrance to the hallway Harry had just disappeared down.

"DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME!" I roared, racing after him.

There was laughter echoing off the walls which only fueled my hatred for the man I once called friend, though something inside of me was telling me that this wasn't really Harry, but at this particular moment, I wasn't paying attention.

"Run, Run, Ron! As fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm Harry Bloody Potter!" came Harry's voice from somewhere up ahead.

I lifted my wand and muttered something under my breath, watching a bright blue light blast from my wand and go off into the darkness, striking something about three hundred meters ahead of me. There was a scream of pain and them more laughter.

"Was wirst du tun, Weasley? Are you going to kill your friend before I have a chance to explain?" Harry asked, his voice sounding hysterical. **_What are you going to do?_**

My first reaction to that statement other than, _Duh_, was:

_Since when did Harry speak German?_

Of course at that point in time, I wasn't really hearing myself.

I finally found him lying on the ground, clutching his bleeding side as he looked up at me through hating green eyes. I matched his burning stare.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," I responded through gritted teeth, raising my wand up to his wild eyes.

He smiled at me.

"Well too bad!"

He began to laugh, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he started sweating feverishly. His skin, instead of becoming pale began to grow red as if suddenly all of the blood in his body was rushing towards his head. His body began to convulse and I took a step back in surprise, too angry to help him but too much in awe to say a thing.

Harry grabbed hold of his head and began to scream something awful. I had to place my hands to my ears to keep the painful wailing from entering my brain, which didn't help. It felt like he was shoving hot daggers through my brain and suddenly I found it very hard to breathe. I could feel my lungs pressing against my chest as my throat began to close up, my insides screaming for air. I fell to my knees, dropping my wand and grabbing my throat as the world around me begat to grow darker. The last thing I remember hearing besides the screams, which I now believed were coming from me, was Harry's voice before something burst into flames before me.

"Nahrung kann mir helfen zu überleben, aber Wasser tötet mich. Was sind ich? Und was ist jedesmal es hatte gesprochen defekt?" **(Same riddle)**

**A/N: I think I'm going to like this story. **

**Starburstgoddess27:** Thank you so much!

**charma10:** Well, you know what they say! It's never to late to try something new.

**sweetiepie1019:** Ok, so when I read this, I was a little confused by what you meant, especially with the whole, "you're not considering the flow of the story, nor the needs of your readers," thing. First of all, I don't know where you got the whole, "Hermione's denying her feelings for Ron" thing. There's a very big diffence between "not wanting to be near him at the moment" and "I don't like him at all". I understand she said that in the first chapter, but I have a feeling your talking about the second one. _Secondly_, as for _estabilshing_ their relationship, I thought it would be quite obvious by the first chapter that they were very close,

_Ron leaned towards me and, instead of saying anything, began kissing my neck. At this point, shockwaves were running up and down my body at the contact as my eyes grew wide and I turned to him._

_"What are you doing?"_

but still refering to each other as friends, i.e, Hermione stressing the fact that she and Ron are just friends to Friederich. By the second chapter, I thought it would be _painfully_ obvious that they were teetering on the edge of an actual relationship, but Hermione's feelings about the past was scaring her. She loves him, but doesn't want the past to repeat itself, which has been a theme of mine... I think... but that's not the point. If that's confusing for you, then I'm sorry, but please do not start including _all_ of my readers in your little group of confusion. If they were confused, they would tell me, as they have before. Thirdly, the first two chapters have only consisted of a grand total of _three_ scenes. So the whole "the scenes flip from place to place far too quickly without any feel of a link in between" also doesn't make sense to me. The first chapter was _just_ one scene, sort of, and the second chapter only had two scenes in which I _clearly_ say what's going on. I really don't understand how they don't flow properly. As for the flow between the first chapter and the second chapter, I'm not nesscessarily one to give a play by play on what happened between the time of Austria and the Leaky Cauldron, but I think I did a pretty good job of explaining it. I am lazy, and I am the first one to admit it, but for this being my _23rd_ story, I think I'm doing pretty good, if I do say so myself.

So, as you can see, I'm very straightforward in what I feel, which probably isn't a good thing, but I had to get a few things off my chest. This was not meant to attack you, though no doubt you'll feel that way, for which I am terribly sorry, but the next time you start a review, take a page out of gummyvites book and don't start a suggestion with "you're not." Instead you could have said, "For the next chapter, consider the flow of the story and maybe even the needs of your readers." Maybe if you had made an approach like that, I would not have written such a _long_ reply.

Cheers!

**katerina:** That's really nice of you. Hope to read from you soon!

**kauri-blume:** I hope you didn't suffer any while waiting. :-P

**GoodbyeYBR:** No, I'm not starting from JKR's ending. I guess I'm starting from maybe the fifth or sixth book, but don't worry about it. I'll probaby not make any reference about it.

**gummyvites:** No problem. I also read over what you were talking about and I saw what you meant. :-) That, if you can believe it, wasn't my intent, but I still smiled anyway. thanks for pointing it out though. I hope I don't do the same thing here. These three chapters were the ones where I had to go back and put it into First person POV. Which was hard.

**Linwe Elendil:** Yes, well, I like to keep my readers entertained. I'm glad the chapter teases are effective. I have hard time figuring out which part of the next chapter would be good to use, but wont reveal too much.

**snowyowl7:** Thank you!

**Wesker888:** Yes, well, I think cookoo would be putting it lightly. And I think I might have been overcome by whatever you were, when you wrote that review because I think I just insulted one of my readers. Did I sound insulting? I was just a bit confused, but I think I insulted the reader.

**Sorry!**

**Chapter Tease: **

_I ran to the railing and looked over the balcony to see his broken body lying there, blood coming from everywhere. _

_"RON!" I screamed, pleading with God that he would move. That he would do something, anything, but lie there dead. _


	4. Fever

**A/N: I really need to do better at this. **

_"Solitude scares me. It makes me think about love, death, and war. I need distraction from anxious, black thoughts." _** -Brigitte Bardot**

Hermione's POV

* * *

I stood in the private room, scribbling stuff onto my clipboard and keeping my eyes off of the two in front of me as I did my job. It had been four hours since I had left the Ministry with Ginny and it was only in the past hour that the Aurors had found Ron's body and brought him to St. Mungos to lay in the proverbial white bed next to his sister while I had been given the not to fun job of finding out what had happened to them both.

Unfortunately for Ginny, it was easier to figure it out just by seeing the long disgustingly deadly gash that ran across her back. I knew the gash all to well and it was the reason why I had thrown up at least twice in the past hour when we were changing her bandages.

For Ron, though the answer wasn't as easy, I found joy in knowing that I did not have to gaze upon the scar that would always remind me of what I had done. His lungs had collapsed for no reason and he had a tremendous fever of one hundred and twelve yet he was still alive. This was the reason it was so cold around his bed. The only other thing I found strange was that he had no signs of a fight on him. Neither were there any traces of magic left on him.

"Healer Granger."

I looked up to see Mathew Conagy, a colleague of mine standing at the door, motioning me to follow him. Glancing over at Ron, I set down my clipboard and left the dead room.

I followed him down the hall to the waiting room where not only the entire Weasley family was waiting anxiously, but at least twenty Aurors were standing, holding with them a banged up Harry Potter, who was struggling against two Aurors. The reason for his less than acceptable appearance could be found in the three fuming redheads standing in the corner, glaring hatred onto the obviously confused victim of their assault.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked again as I entered the room.

I coughed impatiently and suddenly everything became still as everyone waited for me to tell them how Ron and Ginny were. That's when I became uncomfortable and shifted my weight to one foot.

"Ginny's fine. We were able to stop the bleeding fast enough, seeing as we already knew how to. Ron is still under surveillance since we don't know what happened to him, but he is out of danger," I told them calmly, knowing that showing them my own fears would only make matters worse.

"What the hell is going on?" Harry asked suddenly, a look of fear on his face.

I frowned.

"Is that really Harry?" I asked.

Kingsley came over and took me to the side.

"We know that you want him to see Ginny, but we have to keep things safe. We're going to keep him out here for another hour, just to make sure," he growled.

I knew he was just following protocol, but I had to ask.

"Where did you find him?"

Kingsley looked over to the Weasley's and then back at me.

"He was at his flat when we got there, but then again, when we found Ron, there was no one with him, so he could have apparated," Kingsley told me.

There was something I had to know.

"If that's not the real Harry, then where do you think he is?" I asked.

Kingsley put on a small smile.

"Oh I have no doubt that he's the real Harry, I just have to keep him here until the hour's up or the Minister will have Moody's job. Moody's been dealing with him."

I knew my eyes were huge at this point upon hearing this piece of information.

"The Minister knows?"

Kingsley shook his head.

"Not about Harry, but he got there just when we did with a horde of reporters. The press is going to have a field day if they find out that we're detaining the famous Harry Potter for attempted murder," he told me.

That's when it dawned on me.

"That's why you're keeping him here," I finished.

The press wasn't allowed in St. Mungos. It was considered an invasion of privacy. I frowned.

"What does the press know?"

Kingsley shrugged.

"Just as much as the Minister knows and as much as Moody's telling him, which isn't much. All he knows is that Weasley was found unconscious and that someone tried to attack another Ministry employee, but he doesn't know who that employee is," he explained, his eyes moving back to Harry, who had now given up on struggling and was now trying to catch my attention. I bit my lip and looked up at Kingsley.

"Can I talk to him?" I asked.

Kingsley sighed and nodded.

"As long as you don't tell him anything," he warned.

I nodded my head and walked over to where Harry was being held.

"Hermione, what's going on?" he asked shakily.

I shook my head.

"I can't tell you right now, ok. In another hour, then I'll tell you everything, but not now," I said soothingly, hoping that, if this _was_ the real Harry, my voice would calm him down. Either this guy knew Harry pretty well, or was really Harry, but what he said next sounded so much like him that I almost fell for it.

"Come on Hermione," he pleaded. "If Ginny's in trouble I need to know. If anything happened to her…"

I almost felt sorry for him.

_Almost_.

Biting my lip, I shook my head.

"I'm sorry," I whispered before moving away towards where the Weasleys were standing. Mrs. Weasley grabbed me by the hand.

"Oh dear, are you sure he's all right?" she asked me.

I didn't want to lie and tell him he was alright, but I couldn't say that I didn't know either or it would just sound like I didn't care. Fred and George saved me from having to answer that question. However, the topic they brought up didn't really help my nerves.

"What exactly were _you_ doing at the Ministry, Hermione? You don't work there and the only person who works there that late besides _him_," George growled, pointing to Harry. "Is Ron, so what were you doing with Ickle Ronniekens?"

I knew I had gone red, but the embarrassment didn't last long when a nurse ran up to me from the hall.

"Healer Granger, you're needed. Mr. Weasley's temperature is sky rocketing!"

In that moment all of the blood drained from my face as I moved away from the panicking family and ran down the hall and into the Weasley room which was now filled with nurses and Healers who were trying to cool Ron off with their wands. I ran over to his bed, pushing past a couple of nurses and placed the back of my hand to his forehead. I immediately retracted my hand, the intensity of the heat to great for me to stand for too long. He was sweating a lot as a nurse on the other side of his head counted off his temperature.

"120, 123, 125, 128," she continued to say.

I could feel panic seizing hold of my mind, dissuading me from thinking rationally as my heart started to kick into overdrive. But I couldn't let my feelings get the best of me. Ron could die at any moment and if I faltered in any way, it would cost him his life.

Taking a deep breath, I pointed to three nurses.

"Conjure some icepacks and place them under his arms and by his neck. There's too much blood rushing to his brain, which is heating it up at a super fast rate. We have to cool off the blood before it reaches his brain," I told them before turning to another nurse. "Run to the potions cabinet and get me four bottles of blood replenishers and then cool them," I told her. I turned back to the bed. "Raise his head! Raise his head!"

"143, 152, 167!"

That's when Ron started to shake. At first it was only a little from his hands, but then his whole body began to convulse violently.

"Look!"

Mathew Conagy was pointing to his shirt, which was starting to smolder in the places where the scar was. Ron continued to shake, his eyes squeezing shut as if he could suddenly feel the pain but could not say a thing. Healer Conagy was now ordering nurses to move out of his way as he moved to Ron's chest was starting to deflate again.

"His lungs have collapsed!"

"174, 179!"

That's when Ron's mouth flew open, screaming silently as the numbers got higher. I knew he could feel the pain, and that was when seven years of school, four years of training and two years of being one of the best Healers in Europe had gone out the window. All I could do was stand there helplessly, watching as Ron died before me…

"_RON! RON!"_

_I ran to the railing and looked over the balcony to see his broken body lying there, blood coming from everywhere. _

"_RON!" I screamed, pleading with God that he would move. That he would do something, anything, but lie there dead. _

I didn't realize that tears were pouring down my face until Conagy grabbed my arms and shook me out of my nightmarish revere.

"Hermione! Help him!" he screamed at me.

_Help him? How was I going to help him when all I could do was cry over his deathbed?_

_The sheets should have been black._

"Hermione! Help him!" he screamed again, shaking me.

I pushed his hands away and moved over to Ron's head, my legs moving of their own accord. I didn't even know what I was doing anymore as I tried to _help him_.

"187, 193!"

"Hermione, if his temperature gets to two hundred, we're not going to be able to help him!"

_Help him!_

It was as if I wasn't even in my own body anymore. I could see myself moving around Ron's screaming, convulsing body, silent tears cascading down my face as I placed icepacks all over him. Nurses were trying to pour blood replenishers down his throat but he kept shaking so much that it wasn't working. By this time his hands were sheet white and his face was almost the same color as his hair. Suddenly the nurse across from me screamed when Ron's hand grabbed her arm. I was about to reach out and try to help when I screamed myself. Ron's other hand had latched onto my wrist, squeezing it so hard that my hand was starting to turn white. I winced painfully as he squeezed harder.

"197! 198!"

_Woosh!_

There was a big updraft of flames and everyone fell to the floor, covering our heads and screaming as smoke billowed around the room, clogging our lungs. Somehow I had managed to release my hand from Ron's during the sudden fire as I tried to look around. I started coughing as I felt around for anyone. Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me towards them as we heard the door open. We could also hear the fire alarms sound as the smoke moved out into the hall, allowing us to see a little better as we tried to breathe.

"Are you ok?" Conagy asked me, as he helped me up. Aurors were clearing the air with their wands as we looked over to where Ron was. He was no longer red, but perfectly pale which sent a shiver up my spine as I moved over to him. He wasn't shaking either, but his chest wasn't moving.

"Temperature?" I asked shakily, looking over to the nurse who had so enthusiastically been calling it out before. She looked over at me for a moment before picking up her dropped wand and waving it over Ron's head.

"98.6," she answered in awe.

Conagy looked up from Ron as well.

"_What_?"

_What?_ I thought as well. _That's impossible._

The nurse repeated the spell and she looked up at us.

"98.6 degrees, Healer Conagy," she replied.

Everyone who had been in that room before the fire just stared at Ron, while Kingsley, who had just entered the room, moved around the nurses to get to Conagy and I.

"What just happened? We have smoke all over the hall and a very scared family who heard screams coming from this room," he asked angrily.

I didn't answer. Conagy moved over to Kingsley as I reached out and touched Ron's forehead with my fingertips, surprised at how cold he felt.

"He's cold, Mathew," I whispered.

Conagy froze and looked over to me.

"What?"

I looked up at him.

"He's cold, and he's not breathing," I told him shakily, my voice cracking. He had just gotten over a temperature which should have killed him and now he was cold as ice with an average temperature. Conagy went around me and touched Ron's forehead as well, pulling away quickly.

"Victoria, bring me one of the bottles of blood replenishers Granger told you to get," he told one of the near by nurses.

"But they've been chilled," Victoria replied, holding up the cold bottle.

Conagy stared at the bottle for a moment then held out his hand. The nurse handed him the bottle and we all watched as he placed it on the bedside table. His gaze went down onto Ron's scar, which I had just noticed as well. It was no longer black and purple, but black and blue while the smaller scars were glowing red. Conagy took the bottle and opened it, pouring its contents over the scar, which started to hiss and boil nastily. I bit my lip and took a step back as white smoke gently rose from the scar as the potion sunk in.

There was a gasp and suddenly Ron's chest was moving up and down fast as he tried to breathe. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, his eyes wide open as he sucked in the air that had been denied him only moments before.

"Ron," I gasped, taking his head as he continued to take in ragged breaths. "Ron, you need to slow down your breathing. If you breathe in too fast and then exhale to quickly, your lungs could collapse," I told him gently, brushing the hair out of his face as he stared back at me through wide blue eyes. I felt him grab my wrist as he tried to slow down. I could hear him wheezing as his chest finally began to move up and down in slow uneven movements. I looked over at a nurse.

"Bring me something for him to drink, but not water," I said before turning back to Ron. "It's going to be ok…"

He just stared up at me, his mouth opening but nothing but a wheezing noise coming out. I shook my head.

"Don't try to talk. You need to rest. You're lungs collapsed and you've had a temperature of 198," I told him softly as the nurse returned with a glass of what looked like pumpkin juice. I thanked her and took the glass. "Could you help me with his head?" I asked the nurse. As I asked her that, I noticed that Kingsley and Conagy had left, along with the other Aurors. My eyes then wandered over to where Ginny lay. One nurse was attending her, dabbing her face, which had become dirty from the smoke.

"Healer Granger."

The nurse who had brought me the pumpkin juice got my attention and pointed to the glass in my hands. I nodded and turned back to Ron, who was still watching me. The nurse helped me raise his head up and I placed the glass to his lips. He continued to watch me as he drank the juice quickly, which concerned me. I pulled the glass away from his lips and shook my head.

"You can't drink to fast. If you do, you'll start breathing to fast and your lungs will collapse," I told him again. If the situation had been different, I would have laughed at Ron's reaction to my scolding, but at this particular instant, it just made me want to cry. He rolled his eyes at me. His first sign of actually understanding me and giving me the understanding that his mind had not been damaged. His lips parted again for more and I lifted the glass to his lips, watching as he mockingly sipped the liquid slowly, making sure that I saw him. With my other hand I reached up and touched his cheek.

"I can put you into a coma, you know," I whispered. He spit the rest of the juice back in his glass and made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh, only I could see that it was a little painful for him to make any noises. I then smiled at him and kissed his forehead.

"I'll take care of you."

**A/N: Long, intense and beautiful. I LOVE IT!**

**sweetiepie1019:** Um... ok... Just so you know, I wasn't upset. I was being impatient, as Wesker so eloquently puts it. Believe me, _you'll know_ when I'm upset.

**greenbean16:** I'm glad you liked it.

**Artemis Glacion:** Thanks for reading! Love your name by the way!

**Starburstgoddess27:** I am very pleased to know that I do not disappoint. Thank you.

**snowyowl7:** Thank you.

**Wesker888:** Well, as you know, we're not so sure that it's Harry. You'll be seeing much more of those, "I thought/it looked like" moments. Trust me.

**Chapter Tease:**

_"Aren't you supposed to be a Healer?" she asked me. "I'm sure there's some ethical thing about Healers and their patients."_

_I blushed, but continued to watch Ron as his breathing finally slowed down. _

_"Lie down," I told him. "You should rest."_

_"And not snog Hermione," Ginny offered. _

_"Thank you, Gin."_


	5. Check Up

**A/N: I love this...**

_Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive._ **-Elbert Hubbard**

* * *

"You said he was out of danger and the next thing we see is smoke and hear screams!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, glaring at me. 

I glared right back, annoyed that she was yelling at me.

"I also said that we didn't know what had happened to him, meaning we didn't know what was _wrong_ with him!" I retorted angrily.

"You said he was out of danger! He had a fever of _198_! How does someone survive that temperature and how could you just say that he's fine?!"

"We don't know how he survived, but he did."

"You said he was fine!"

"He's alive!"

"But you said he was out of danger!"

I don't know what came over me, but Ron's mother had suddenly gotten under my skin and I had been so emotional for the past few days over what had happened with Ron that I lost it.

"_Listen to me_," I growled. "I don't _care_ about what I said before so stop bringing it the hell up! Ron is awake and fine at the moment! Now would you prefer me to tell you that he's going to burst into flames in ten minutes or that he's fine, because at the moment I think you'd rather hear that your son is going to _die_ rather than hear that he's going to be fine!?" I screamed. For a moment, Mrs. Weasley stared at me, flabbergasted. Then her face went extremely red and her eyes narrowed at me.

"You! How dare you accuse me of such a thing! You're the reason he was at the Ministry in the first place! If he hadn't been there, he would have been fine!" she shrieked.

This new personal attack hurt, but I wasn't about to let her get the best of me.

"Ginny would have still gone! So now you'd rather Ginny have been stabbed than Ron get hurt?!"

Mrs. Weasley looked ready to curse me into oblivion when Mr. Weasley suddenly stepped between us, touching his wife's shoulder carefully.

"I think we should all just calm down. It's been a trying few hours and I'm sure Hermione has done everything she could to make sure that Ron and Ginny are ok, so let's not fight over it. Molly, come on. Let's get some tea," he suggested to his fuming wife. She continued to glare at me reproachfully, but followed her husband away to the elevator. Fred and George came over to me, apologetic smiles on their faces.

"Sorry, Hermione," George said.

"Mum's just a bit scared, that's all," Fred explained.

"And maybe a bit miffed," George added.

I took a deep breath, angrily wiping at the tears that were now threatening to spill out of my eyes. I didn't want to hear excuses for their mother. She shouldn't have yelled at me for something I couldn't have controlled.

_That sounds oddly familiar…_

"Well, I really could care less at this point," I muttered. Fred and George glanced at each other, without saying a thing. There was a short break where we didn't say anything before Fred looked over to where Harry was sitting, looking very much alone and helpless. It had been more than an hour later and Moody had finally appeared, giving orders to release Harry. I had been told not to let Harry into the room with Ginny.

"Maybe you should go talk to him. No one's told him what happened and… well, you know," Fred said, moving his thumb between himself and George. I nodded and walked over to where Harry sat, lowering myself into the seat next to him. He looked up at me.

"Are you going to tell me why Aurors entered my flat, brought me here, where I was beat up by Fred, George and Bill and then forced to stay silent while people started talking about Ginny and Ron being in the hospital?" he asked casually.

I sighed.

"Something happened at the Ministry last night, Harry… and we all saw you there…"

He frowned.

"What are you talking about, 'I was there'? I was at my flat and Ginny had just left to go get some things she had left there. I had an early day today, so I couldn't come with her," he told me.

I looked down at my hands.

"Well… I don't know who it was, but someone who looked exactly like you came… and… you almost killed Ginny."

Once again, Harry went completely pale as he struggled to say something against this statement.

"I… I what?"

I looked up at him quickly.

"Well, not you, obviously, but the person who looked like you. Ron and I were in his office and you and Ginny were in yours and we heard a scream… the next thing I know is that Ron's chasing after you and Ginny's on the ground, bleeding from the stab to her back…"

Harry looked away from me, his hands clasped together as he took it all in. I could see his hands shaking a little and I reached out to take them.

"She's ok, Harry," I whispered.

"I need to see her," he responded, not having heard me at all.

I shook my head.

"I can't let you and you know that. You can't see her until she's released, Harry."

He shook his head.

"No… no…"

"Harry-"

"I didn't do anything!" he yelled, standing up and attracting the attention of a couple sitting near by, giving us strange looks. I stood up as well and grabbed his hand, trying to get his attention.

"Calm down, Harry," I hissed. "We know you wouldn't try to hurt Ginny, but we can't take any chances. Especially since you're not on watch and if you decide to go to the bathroom or something-"

"Then take me to see her now," he growled, but I shook my head.

"I can't, Harry… I just can't…"

Looking into his eyes, I could see that something had just dawned on him and I knew what it was, making me very uncomfortable.

"She doesn't want to see me, does she?" he asked, his voice cold and emotionless.

I shook my head, taking both his hands.

"It's not that, Harry… she's just a little scared right now. I mean, we're still trying to convince her that it wasn't you who stabbed her in the back," I tried to explain.

_Yes, tell him that his girlfriend's afraid of him. That'll cheer him up, Hermione_, I thought.

He looked down at his hands.

"But she's ok?" he asked, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him to me. When I felt his arms circle around my waist, I sighed.

"It'll be ok, Harry."

* * *

"_You stupid bastard! Why don't you just leave me alone?!" I screamed, glaring at him hatefully. _

"_I'm the stupid bastard? You're the one dating an arse who's not who you think he is!"_

"_SHUT UP! In all of your glorious lack of intelligence, have you not realized that the only thing he's ever done to threaten my life is kiss me! How could you be so thick?!_

"_You selfish bitch!"_

I woke up with a jolt, those words resonating off the walls and seeped painfully into the deep crevices of my heart like salt in an open wound. I could feel the sweat move down my face as I looked around my quiet flat. By now, the afternoon sun was filtering through the blinds as Crookshanks stared at me from his spot on the floor. Taking a deep breath, I lay back down on the couch, closing my eyes as I tried to remember everything that had been said that day. I tried to recall every feeling I had felt towards him during that horrible moment and every feeling I felt for him now…

_When had things changed?_ I asked myself as I lay there.

Things had been unbearable between Ron and I after he had woken up from his coma. We both remembered the words that had been exchanged the night before and I knew I had chewed myself up over it and was an absolute wreck when we finally did approach each other about it. Up until about four days ago, we had been stuck on square one.

"But he didn't tell me that he loved me," I said out loud. I looked over to Crookshanks. "What do you think that means?" The cat just stared at me before coming over and jumping onto my legs, mewing loudly. Sighing, I sat up and scooped the huge thing into my arms before moving to the kitchen. As I fed my cat, I looked over to the clock resting on the counter and frowned, realizing what time it was. My boss had ordered me home for the rest of the morning and I suppose I had overslept. I had actually cried myself to sleep. Being out of the sight of Ron and his family, I had felt the need to express every feeling I had felt during Ron's near death experience.

"What's going on Crookshanks?" I asked him, watching as he ate the food I set before him.

This is exactly what I hated about myself. Here I was, supposedly taking a break from work, relationships and Ron, and I'm standing in my kitchen, pining over the one man I didn't want to think about at this particular moment. Once more, I was talking to my cat, which doesn't really care.

I was pathetic. I couldn't go three hours without thinking about that man…

Sighing, I looked at the clock again.

"I better get to work."

Crookshanks made a loud groaning sound and I gave him a mean look.

"I'm going to see Ginny as well," I told him unconvincingly before leaving the kitchen.

* * *

Walking down the halls of St. Mungos always brings back memories of the war. I remember the ones who had come here, only to die in the arms of a Healer who could not save them. The thought of that happening again was almost unthinkable, so therefore I decided not to think about it. 

"Healer Granger," the nurse greeted me as I entered the room. I went over to Ginny, who was sitting up in bed, reading the Daily Prophet front page. When she saw me, she frowned and turned the paper around so that I could see it.

"Ronald Weasley goes down heroically!" she exclaimed. "_Ronald Weasley_ goes down _heroically_?! What the hell?"

Ron, who was also sitting up, just stared at her, making wheezing noises that resembled laughs in some sort of way. I frowned as well, but not for the same reasons as Ginny.

"Ginny, no one knows what happened to you. All Moody told the Minister was that Ron was found unconscious and that a Ministry official was attacked. Your parents are already being begged for details. If they knew that Harry Potter's girlfriend got attacked in his own office, what do you thing the papers would say then?"

"Yeah, especially if they found out that Harry was the one who did it," Ginny muttered darkly.

I could feel the tension building up and glanced over at Ron, who had stopped wheezing, but was still watching her carefully.

"Ginny, you know very well that Harry wouldn't attack you. It was a look a like," I told her. "Harry would never hurt you."

She looked at me for a while then sighed, looking back down at the paper in her hands.

"I know… it's just… he acted so real… but I should have known," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, moving over to the side of the bed so that I could sit down beside her.

"He kissed me… and when he did, I didn't feel… that spark. You know… that shiver up your spine when the man you love kisses you just right," she told me. By this time, I could feel Ron's blue eyes on me. I knew what he was thinking, but I wasn't here to discuss our relationship. I was here to discuss what would happen between Ginny and Harry.

"Then why won't you let Harry see you? If you know it wasn't him, then why?" I asked.

Ginny rubbed her arm and looked up at me.

"It's not that I don't want to see him… it's just…" she paused and took a deep breath. "I can still hear him laughing after he stabbed me, Hermione. I can hear it and I don't want to associate Harry with that sound. I don't want to see Harry and immediately think of him laughing at me as he stabbed me in the back…. I just think that it'd be best if I'm allowed time to think through everything, without Harry here to confuse me."

I nodded, taking her hand.

"I understand, Ginny. Just… don't make him wait too long. He _really_ wants to see you," I whispered before standing up and moving over to where the nurse stood, checking Ron's temperature.

"How's he doing?" I asked her.

Ron stared at me, opening his mouth to say something, but nothing but a loud rasp escaping his lips. The nurse looked up at me.

"He's doing pretty well right now. We finally did get his body warm, though his lungs have collapsed at least twice since you left."

I frowned.

"What? When?"

The nurse, however, didn't seem upset by this news. She was actually smiling.

"It was almost cute. When Ginny finally woke up, he tried to talk to her, but I guess he got a little excited. The second time was when he was eating, or rather inhaling the food. He wasn't really breathing at all," she told me.

_Great Ron, die eating!_

I took his hand.

"I always told you that you ate to fast," I said.

He opened his mouth to say something again, but again nothing came out. I reached up and placed three fingers to his throat.

"His throat's ice cold," I gasped, pulling my fingers away.

The nurse nodded.

"That's the only thing we couldn't warm up, which is probably one of the reasons why he can't speak," she explained.

I nodded, taking his hand.

"Thank you," I said. The nurse nodded and left the room. In the corner of my eye, I could see Ginny reading the paper, frowning. I looked up at Ron, who was watching me.

"What?" I asked without realizing what I'd just said. He opened his mouth, but I stopped him, shaking my head.

"No, don't. I don't need your lung collapsing because you decided to speak to me," I whispered, sitting down on the bed and taking his hand. I tried to think of something to say when I felt warms hands touch my face. Looking over to him, I smiled. "I think I like you better when you can't talk."

He smiled at me and leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine. I could feel my heart constrict and I raised my hand to his, leaning into the kiss.

"Ahem."

Both of us jolted, pulling away from each other to look over at Ginny, who was watching us with an eyebrow raised. Ron, whose breathing had suddenly become irregular, was clutching his chest as he tried to slow his breathing. I stood up, taking his hand in mine as I watched him struggle. Ginny just shook her head.

"Aren't you supposed to be a Healer?" she asked me. "I'm sure there's some ethical thing about Healers and their patients."

I blushed, but continued to watch Ron as his breathing finally slowed down.

"Lie down," I told him. "You should rest."

"And not snog Hermione," Ginny offered.

"Thank you, Gin."

She smiled at me and went back to her paper. I sighed and silently cursed myself for letting that happened. I should have known better.

"Healer Granger?"

I looked over to the door to see Victoria, the nurse from last night, waving me over.

"There's a Mr. Harry Potter out here asking for you," she said before leaving. I could feel Ron's grip on my hand tighten as Ginny suddenly looked up, her eyes on me.

"What's he doing here?" she asked me.

I glanced down at Ron, before standing up and moving to the door. Ron, however, pulled back on my hand, shaking his head. I frowned and pried my hand from his.

"I'll be back in a minute."

* * *

"Did you get the information?" 

Handing over the file, the man took a step back.

"I also was able to have the honor of marking the Two," he said.

The other man looked up and smiled.

"Good… good…"

**A/N: Finally, an update. Soar will be updated soon. **

**Andrea:** You're rather demanding! Here you are:-)

**Adelaide MacGregor:** Thank you.

**gummyvites:** Maybe. We'll just have to find out.

**connieewing:** Read on!

**000kayko000:** Thank you!

**mikolina:** I'm glad you like it!

**greenbean16:** Well, I don't know. It's hard to explain how someone survives getting a fever that high in the first place without his insides bursting into... oh wait! He did burst into flames! (A bit of sarcasm not aimed at you. I just thought it'd be funny.) :-) I personally Hermione handled the situation in a _very_ professional manner. :-)

**Wesker888:** I hope you didn't wait to long.

**Chapter Tease:**

_Why are you so afraid to face him? He didn't do it and I know you know it."_

_Ginny sighed, looking back at me. _

_"Look, Hermione. I know he didn't do it, but it's still weird, okay. I just… it's weird, knowing that a man who looked like the man you love stabbed you in the back… literally."_


	6. Mrs Weasley and Ms Granger

**A/N: Here.**

Hermione moved around the room, avoiding my gaze as I watched her sort through potions and scribble things down. Sighing, I went back to buttoning up my shirt as I stood at the side of my empty white bed. It had been over two weeks since I had been admitted into St. Mungos and I was finally being released after they couldn't find anything else wrong. The only problem was that I still couldn't speak, which Fred and George joked about relentlessly. Ginny had been released the week before me, but I had yet to hear if she and Harry had spoken. All I knew was that he was under Ministry watch by orders of Moody. He wasn't happy about that.

"Are you ready?" Hermione finally asked, placing all these little bottles in a bag and holding them as she looked at me expectantly.

Nodding, I moved over to her. She smiled and motioned to the door. I was the first to exit the room, while Hermione wrote a few more things down before following me out. We walked down the hall in silence, my only comfort in knowing that I had not done anything wrong was when she took my hand in hers as we went up to her office.

"Just wait a moment," she told me before going to her desk and going through large stacks of papers. As she did this, I took the time to look around. I had actually never been in Hermione's office before. She had a few pictures on her desk, though I couldn't see who they were of. There were some certificates on the wall, displaying Hermione's many achievements and proving how far she had come to get where she was. I was so absorbed in looking around; I hadn't realized that I was being watched until I felt the eyes on me. Turning around, I caught Hermione watching me with a weird look in her eye. I frowned, but didn't say anything.

She moved around her desk and came up to me, looking up me through clouded eyes. I tried opening my mouth to say something, but all that came out was that annoying wheeze. She suddenly blushed and leaned in, kissing me quickly before going out the door. Feeling extremely confused, I followed her out and together we left the hospital. We arrived at the Burrow in a crack, surprising my mother, who was cooking in the kitchen.

"Oh, Ron! You're home early!" she exclaimed, pushing Hermione out of the way to get to me and hug me. Hermione had to stop her though, when I started gasping for air. My lungs had still not recovered from the constant collapsing and therefore I had to take it easy, which entitled nothing that would require hard work for my lungs. Though I didn't seem to understand, Hermione insisted that the rule included snogging.

"Oh dear, how are you feeling? Are you sore? Do you want something to eat? Well, of course you do, you've been eating that hospital food for the past two weeks. Sit down and I'll fix you something up."

I sat down, though I didn't hear the rest of her ramblings as she returned to her pots of food. Hermione remained standing, looking out the window.

"Is Ginny around, Mrs. Weasley?" she asked.

My mum glanced over at her and then turned back to the food.

"She should be somewhere, Ms. Granger."

_The hell?_

Suddenly, I felt very out of place when I noticed the reproachful look my mother had given Hermione just then and if I didn't know any better, Hermione had sent a very dark look towards my mum as well. I knew it wouldn't do me any good to open my mouth, so I kept quiet, watching the two. Hermione suddenly turned and headed towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" my mum asked.

Hermione glanced over at me then my mum and then frowned.

"To find Ginny, Mrs. Weasley," she replied before going upstairs. My mother glared at the place she had just been before turning back to the stove.

_What the hell_?

I sat there for ten minutes, trying to figure out the thought process of a woman when Hermione finally came back downstairs with Ginny, who smiled when she saw me.

"Hello my silent brother," she joked, sitting down beside me. I glared at her and she just continued to smile. Hermione sat down across from me, keeping her eye on my mother as she handed me a quill and paper. I frowned. I had been using a quill and paper for the past two weeks. Why were they giving me a new one? Ginny seemed to know what I was thinking and explained.

"This is like the one Reeta Skeeter has. It records your thoughts without you having to write at all, so we don't have to wait for you to write everything down. Hermione never had time to get one for you and I've been busy the past few days."

I looked down at the quill and paper and suddenly it came to life, the quill ready.

_Have you talked to Harry?_

The quill scribbled something down and the pad of paper moved over to Ginny, who took the pad and looked over it, her smile disappearing. She shook her head.

"I haven't had the chance," she muttered.

There was a loud clack as my mum set food in front of me and Ginny. She then got this shocked look on her face, though I could tell she was faking it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ms. Granger. I don't have enough for you," she said apologetically.

Hermione seemed to grit her teeth as she smiled falsely.

"Oh that's fine, Mrs. Weasley. I was just about to leave," she said, catching my attention from my mother's dark eyes.

_What?_

The pad shoved itself into Hermione's face, though she didn't need to read it to know what I was thinking. She sighed.

"I have to give a report to Moody about your health so he can decide whether or not you're well enough to go back to work," she explained.

"Well, you better make sure he's out of danger then. We don't want him bursting into flames again," my mum muttered loudly, going back over to the stove, where I could see that there was plenty of food left. Hermione went red in the face and Ginny sunk down in her seat as I looked between the two, becoming even more confused.

"Well, as long as you don't _hug_ him to death, I think we'll be ok," Hermione retorted, glaring at my mother before moving around the table to me. Before I knew it, she was kissing me, her hand resting on my leg, in perfect view of my mother, not that I was complaining. But when her hand began to move higher, I just knew she was trying to get both of us killed as she pressed her lips closer to mine. Suddenly I felt like an idiot, for all I could do was sit there and kiss her back, completely aware that my mother was burning holes into me and Hermione. Finally, Hermione pulled away, but not before my lungs started to constrict from the lack of air. The moment her lips left mine, I started gasping for air, glancing over at my mother, who was watching Hermione with red eyes.

"I'll see you later, Ron," Hermione told me before going outside. All I could do was gasp. Ginny, however, got up and ran after her.

* * *

"What was that about?" Ginny asked me as I pulled out my wand. I glanced inside and smiled, watching Ron as he still gasped for air.

"I don't want to talk about it," I muttered.

Ginny frowned.

"You don't want to talk about why you and my mother deem it pertinent to act like you and Ron, or why you felt it pertinent to snog my brother _in front_ of my mum?"

"Both, Ginny," I replied, growing red. "Look, I've really got to go, so we'll talk later. Besides, you really have no right talking about my problem with your mother. When was the last time you talked to Harry?"

I had decided that if she was going to get on my case, I was going to get on hers.

It worked.

Ginny went red and looked away from me.

"I'm going to, Hermione. I just haven't found the right time…"

I rolled my eyes.

"Ginny. Harry's been coming over here for the past week, trying to see you and every time, you run up into your old room. Why are you so afraid to face him? He didn't do it and I _know_ you know it."

Ginny sighed, looking back at me.

"Look, Hermione. I know he didn't do it, but it's still weird, okay. I just… it's weird, knowing that a man who looked like the man you love stabbed you in the back… literally."

I tried to hide the smile as I rubbed Ginny's arm comfortingly.

"Just talk to him, Gin. He's worried sick about you and _really_ wants to snog you."

Ginny blushed, and smiled, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"I will. Don't worry."

I nodded and looked back inside to see Ron watching his mother carefully, as if afraid she'd blow up at any moment. I sighed. I really needed to apologize to the woman. I actually don't know what had gotten into me when I had kissed Ron in front of me, but when she started taking stabs at me for the mix up almost two weeks ago, I had had the undeniable urge to make her speechless. My little snog with Ron had certainly shut both of them up, though I immediately remembered afterwards my little talk with Ron about how we weren't supposed to snog for a while. I found myself sighing again and looked down at my wand.

"Tell Ron I'll come around later," I muttered before disapparating.

* * *

I thanked God when Ginny came back inside from talking to Hermione, frowning. I stood up pointing to the stairs. Ginny giggled at my lack of tongue and lead the way up the stairs after excusing us from mum.

_What were you two talking about?_

Once again, the pad of paper shoved itself in Ginny's face and she took it, reading it quickly before shaking her head.

"Nothing, Ron… it's not important," she whispered, opening the door to my room and going in. I reached out and grabbed her arm.

_It's important to me. It's about Harry isn't it?_

She snatched the pad and read it before sighing.

"I'll talk to him, Ron. Don't worry about it. Besides, I think you should be worried about mum and Hermione. Those two didn't seem to like each other. Do you know why?" she asked. I shook my head, racking my brain for an explanation but coming up short. We were silent for a while before she turned to me.

"That guy… that guy who attacked me… did he ever say anything to you? Besides laugh?" she asked, her topic catching me completely off guard. I had already told Moody what Imposter Harry had said to me, though it was really hard, seeing as it was in German. But I had never talked to Ginny about. As a matter of fact, Harry and I never really talked to Ginny about the Solomon thing. I knew sooner or later she would want to get involved, seeing as the guy had attacked her, but I was still worried. She was my little sister after all. I didn't want to bring her into something that would end up getting more dangerous than it already was.

Ginny seemed to know what I was thinking because she suddenly stood up and gave me a dark look.

"I'm not eleven, Ron. I think I've proved myself time and time again capable of being able to take care of myself."

_I know, Gin. I just don't want you to get hurt again._

Reading the paper, she shook her head.

"The guy let me live for a reason. He could have killed me with a wand. Silent and efficient, but instead he chose to stick a knife in my back, making me scream. He wanted you to hear him. He _wanted_ you to chase after him. I know he told you something that you're not telling me."

_Ginny, there's nothing to tell. What that bastard told me Hermione already figured out. It was just some stupid riddle in which the answers were Silence and Fire. It doesn't make any sense. There's nothing else, Gin._

She snatched the pad of paper before it got close to her face and read over it quickly and frowned.

"Silence and Fire. What does that mean?" she mused.

I stood up and took her hand.

_Forget about it, Gin. You're safe and so am I, so don't worry about it. _

She glanced at the paper then up at me, biting her lip.

"Do you think this guy's going to try it again?"

I shook my head.

_The Ministry has Harry watched. If he goes to the Ministry or your flat without Moody's permission then we'll know who it is and we'll be ready._

She glanced down at the paper then nodded.

"I guess…"

"Ron! Harry and Moody are here to see you!"

I felt Ginny stiffen beside me and I squeezed her hand comfortingly, leading her back down the stairs. We entered the living room to see Harry standing there, looking around nervously while Moody watched him carefully.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, attracting both men's attention. Harry froze upon seeing her and took a step forward before he noticed her take a small step backward.

"Ginny-"

"Not now, Potter. We've got a problem. Well, actually the Minister's got a problem, but he wants us to fix it," Moody interrupted.

I frowned.

_What happened?_

The pad was shoving itself into Moody's face, who took it, looking irritated and read it before looking at me.

"Nanking Solomon was killed an hour ago at the Minister's house. The Minister's facing a lot of charges, though at the moment we cannot clearly say he did it."

_What?_ _How?_

Moody didn't need to read the paper to know what I had asked.

"He was killed with the Avada Kerdava. There's no evidence of the killer, but the Minister was the only one in the house at the time, though he has a good alibi."

"What's that? He was fooling around with the Hogwarts teacher?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded.

"He admits to talking to her. She's being interrogated as we speak," he answered.

_What do you need me for? I'm not on duty for another week._

Moody snagged the pad of paper before it shoved its way into his face again. Reading it, he looked at me.

"Solomon left a message for you and Granger. Something about what happened in Austria. The rest of us can't read it and we just need to get Granger," he told me.

She was probably at her apartment.

"Where's the message?" Ginny asked.

Moody took out a letter and handed it to me. Unfolding it, I frowned.

_Food can help me survive, but water will kill me. What am I? And what is broken every time it's spoken?_

There was a drawing of some strange tree at the bottom, but I didn't bother myself with it.

_What the hell? What was it with this riddle? Did every bloody man in Europe who was after Solomon?_

These were the thoughts that entered my mind as I stared at the words that repeated themselves at least four other times on the page before it stopped.

"Doesn't the Minister's house have surveillance?" Ginny suddenly asked.

Harry frowned.

"How do you know that?"

Ginny suddenly blushed and looked over at the letter in my hand.

"The Minister's invited me over to his house a few times. I've only been there once, mind you," she added quickly.

Suddenly I got the meaning of what she said and gaped at her.

_The Minister's hit on you?!_

Ginny shoved the pad of paper out of her face, her eyes meeting Harry's shocked ones.

"Yes, the Minister has hit on me, Ron," she said before looking at me. "I however, told him that Harry Potter isn't interested in sharing me," she added. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got other things to do."

She left the room. Harry was about to follow her when Moody shook his head.

"I don't think so. We need to get Hermione."

**A/N: Well, not much going on in this chapter. Now I know, Hermione's acting a bit OOC, but it was a personal amusement.**

**mistt:** I'll try, but since school has started I only have a limited amount of time online.

**Artemis Glacion:** Don't worry. Things explain themselves. Or rather, the characters explain them to the readers.

**ronandmion4ever:** I was never to good with humor so I always try to add "fluff" (shivers at the word) scenes. A bit of sarcasm goes a long way!

**rachhulk:** Please don't worry. I tend not to explain things immediately, (which probably isn't the best thing). I will explain certain things at the nessecary times.

**greenbean16:** Thank you!

**charma10:** I'm sorry for your loss. TT. I hope you're able to get through it ok. As for me killing people, we just started the story! I can't just start hacking away at characters:-)

**Ronsreallove:** I actually speak German.

**connieewing:** Yes, well, I'm sure Ginny will get over her fear soon.

**OzDust:** Well, I am known for writing crazy things!

**Wesker888:** Don't worry about Soar. It _will_ be updated as will Numb. Anyway, I thought that your updated chapter was pretty good. I hope to see another soon. I'm glad you like this one.

**Adelaide MacGregor:** Oh no, I'm explaining it as I go. Pretty much, I'm making this story up as I write. I actually haven't made it past the next chapter. I tend to do things spontaneously. (is that how you spell it?)

**Chapter Tease:**

_Suddenly I couldn't breathe. A sharp pain shot through my chest as I tried to stand._

_The last thing I remember was my legs, buckling beneath me as my lungs screamed for air._


	7. Hot Water

**A/N: This is by far the _longest_ chapter I have _ever_ written... **

_Where there is love, there is pain._** -Spanish proverb **

* * *

Hermione's POV

* * *

Stepping into the shower, I let the hot water run over me. I knew Moody would be at the hospital, waiting to berate me for not bringing in the report, but something in my gut had told me that the report wasn't done. It was as if something was telling me that Ron's health wasn't better yet. Closing my eyes, I turned and let the water run down my back as I reached for the soap and washcloth. Once again, my mind wandered back to the night at the Ministry and the hours that had followed it. If I had been more curious about Harry's sudden appearance, would Ginny not have been stabbed or would the imposter have found some other creative way to get to her, if indeed it was her he was after in the first place. Though the knife the man had used was obviously the same type as the one that had been used for Ron, the incidences were not only separated by time, but by motive.

I opened my eyes and looked down at my arms, which were now lathered with a lilac scented soap. Raising my hand, I removed some of the lather off of my left arm and stared at the red scar that remained from the night two years ago. I knew why Ron had been stabbed, but I didn't have a clue why Ginny had. She had been left to live, while Ron had been shoved off the balcony and left to die. I knew why Ron had been stabbed while Ginny's attack remained a mystery.

Once again, I racked my brain for any connection between the attack and the riddle that had once again come up since our trip to Austria. What did the words silence and fire have to do with Ginny or Ron? What did it have to do with Solomon or the Germans for that matter? Why were the Death Eaters interested in Solomon?

_Bang!_

I swirled around in time to see the outline of someone enter the bathroom, the door lying broken on the ground. Everything suddenly felt cold as the figure moved around the bathroom, obviously avoiding the shower. I could feel my heart pounding as I waited for whoever it was to show themselves and do whatever it was they had come to do.

"What do you want?" I demanded and suddenly the shower curtains were drawn back.

_Oh my God!_

"David!"

Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed my throat. I was hoisted into the air and suddenly who it was, was the last thing on my mind.

* * *

Ron's POV

* * *

When we apparated into her living room, I looked around, trying to find signs of her. Harry was about to call out her name when we heard a bang come from her room.

"David!"

We heard and in that moment I knew something was wrong.

David was dead.

I sprinted into the bedroom, with Harry and Moody right behind me and skidded to a halt at the bathroom door. Or what was left of it.

A tall man with long brown hair was standing in the shower, holding a flailing Hermione, who just happened to be naked. I would have said something, but all that came out of my mouth was a wheezing roar of anger. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I did it anyway. I ran forward, slamming my shoulder right into the guy's side, knocking both of us down. Hermione gave a squeal and a grunt when she hit the shower floor. I however, was so obsessed with pounding the man's skull in that I hadn't noticed that on the way down to the ground, his head had hit the toilet seat and that he was unconscious.

"Ron! Ron, stop!" Moody ordered, grabbing me by my shirt and hauling me off of the man.

Suddenly I couldn't breathe. A sharp pain shot through my chest as I tried to stand.

The last thing I remember was my legs, buckling beneath me as my lungs screamed for air.

* * *

Hermione's POV

* * *

"He's waking up," I whispered, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes as they fluttered open drowsily. He stared at me for a moment then opened his mouth to speak. I shook my head and placed a finger to his lips.

"Don't. Your lungs just collapsed and you're weak. Don't try to speak," I told him before reaching over to grab a cup of tea resting on my coffee table. We had not left my flat. After I had managed to inflate Ron's lungs again, much to my embarrassment, I had gotten dressed. We had tied the imposter up and he was now in the corner, glaring at Harry, who was watching Ron and I while Moody had his head in the fireplace, speaking with someone at the Ministry no doubt. Ron was now resting on my couch while I tended to him.

"Is he ok, now?" Harry asked, leaning in to get a better look at his friend.

I waited until Ron was in a better sitting position then handed him the tea.

"He should be fine now…" I assured him while watching Ron carefully. I didn't want him gulping the tea down. "Thank you for beating up the guy, but maybe next time a simple flick of the wand will do. You _do_ know how to use non-verbal spells don't you?" I asked much to Harry's amusement. Ron just scowled at Harry before rolling his eyes and going back to his tea. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a quill and paper. The quill wrote something down and then I took it.

_Who's your attacker?_

My mind suddenly went into overdrive. I knew what he meant and I knew that if he had said it out loud, he would have sounded bitter.

The man who had attacked me was not the man who was in the corner now, watching me with loathing. I, along with Moody and Harry, had seen him return back to the unknown man in my living room. The problem was how did he know?

Attacker Visage: David Franklin Miller. Ex-boyfriend.

Actual Attacker: Unknown. Imposter.

Who was David?

He was the man who had shoved Ron off the balcony after stabbing him in the chest that horrible night two years ago. He was the reason I woke up at night screaming and the reason why Ron and I had never moved past our friendship stage until now. He was the reason Ron and I had gotten into that devastating fight.

Harry James Potter: David Franklin Miller's executioner.

I cannot share the details as to how David was executed. All I know is that it wasn't Ministry approved and the only two people who actually know what happened are Harry Potter and David Miller…

Harry's voice pulled me out of my revere and back to reality. He must have been telling Ron about what had happened after he had passed out, because Harry was blushing and Ron was staring at him. Moody finally stood from the fireplace and turned his gaze upon my attacker.

"We'll take him over to the Ministry for interrogation," he told us.

"Then what?" I asked.

Moody looked over at us.

"He'll be sent to Azkaban until we figure out what to do with him," he explained.

In the corner of my eye I could see Harry watching me and I knew that Ron was doing the same. And I knew why.

"Look, I _will_ be part of the interrogation," I stated clearly, wanting all three of them to know that I was serious. They may be the best Aurors, but their heads were still rather thick. "The man came after me for a reason, and I intend to find out why because I know that if I'm _not_ there, you two will hide something from me. The first time they came, they came as Harry… now they managed to get David's… I mean, no one could find David's body after-" I stopped suddenly, glancing over at Harry, like Ron and Moody did. Harry's face showed no emotion as he spoke.

"David Miller's body can't be found and never will be," he said in a cold voice that made me shiver. "They must have gotten some of his hair from his apartment."

"And kept it for two years?" I asked.

Harry stared right at me when replied.

"They can't find the body," he said before getting up and going into the kitchen.

I looked up at Moody.

"Is that right? For him to keep the body away from the Ministry?"

Moody shook his head.

"It's not right, but I wouldn't like to see what he did to the man. You and I both know how mad he was when he went to find Miller. I know he didn't just _Avada Kerdava_ his sorry arse," Moody muttered, sitting down in Harry's abandoned seat and looking at the man in the corner. "Harry Potter tortured that man before he died and I don't want to know how."

It felt as if everything had suddenly become cold. The topic of David Miller had always been a sore one, especially for Ron and I. But when it came to Harry, it was something else all together. He carried the events of David Miller's death around with him everywhere he went. He never told anyone.

My mind went back to what Harry and Moody had shown me before Ron had woken up.

"What do Silence and Fire have to do with each other and us?" I asked myself out loud.

Ron looked up at me and met my gaze. He reached up and took my hand, causing me to smile.

"I hate being confused," I muttered, before looking up at the imposter in the corner.

* * *

Hermione's POV

* * *

After getting the password, Ginny opened the back door and let me in. I immediately shrugged off my soaking cloak, cursing the bad weather. I was about to ask her where Ron was when I noticed Harry sitting at the kitchen table, staring at two steaming mugs in front of him. I then noticed that Ginny was shaking a little and was paler than normal. I placed a hand on her arm and frowned.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

In response, she glanced over at Harry, who seemed to have just noticed that someone else now occupied the very uncomfortable space that was a kitchen. He frowned at me.

"Hermione?" Was all he said.

"Hello, Harry," I responded, taking one last look at Ginny before moving past them and to the stairs. "I'll leave you two alone. Is Ron upstairs?"

Ginny nodded, eyes on Harry, who had gone back to staring at the mugs. I sighed and went up the stairs, hoping that the two would be able to sort out Ginny's fear.

"Ron?" I called, reaching the second landing. Suddenly something flew up in my face and I snatched the pad of paper before it scratched my face.

_I'm in here._

I rolled my eyes and smiled, knowing that Ron had not realized his cute mistake. I leaned into the open door to see Ron sitting on a bed, writing something down on some parchment.

"What are you writing?" I asked.

_A letter._

"To who?" I asked, watching the quill scribble down the answer in a quick scrawl.

_Vicky_.

I smiled at his comment and leaned against the doorpost, watching as he finished his letter and handed it to Pig, who flew excitedly around the room until Ron opened the window, shutting it behind the small owl, leaving the poor bird to the stormy elements. I waited until he approached me to speak.

"I heard the interrogation was postponed until tomorrow. Why?"

_Why didn't you ask Harry?_

He had now turned so that we were both in the doorway.

"Harry's dealing with Ginny," I whispered, noticing his head draw closer to me. I placed a hand on his chest and could feel his heart beat quickly, which made me feel weak for some stupid reason. What was it about this man that made everything go out the window, including my guard?

"How are you feeling?" I asked softly, not knowing what else to say. He was just staring at me, reading my soul so easily. I hoped he didn't give me what I craved though. I knew I wasn't ready for that yet.

He reached up, took my hand from his chest and began to kiss my fingertips gently; nibbling each one with such deliberation that it sent shockwaves up and down my spine as well as warning bells to my brain. This was dangerous. Sure I loved the man, but being in such a position in which any member of the Weasley family could walk in on this tantalizing situation would cause such embarrassment that I would be forced to avoid the Burrow for a _very_ long time.

Yet I couldn't pull my eyes away from the seducing blue pools that were his. I could no longer hear anything and whether or not my heart had stopped all together or that the couple downstairs where in their own world themselves did not cross my mind. All I knew was that Ron's lips had suddenly left my fingers and had taken up residence under my jaw, where I could feel his nose nuzzling my skin as his lips once again teased me.

When my mind did finally grasp the situation, I finally breathed in air. Gasping heavily, I took Ron's face in my hands and moved him away from me, needing to distance myself from him a little so that I could get my bearings.

He just smiled at me.

"It's not funny," I muttered, taking deep breaths to calm myself.

He nodded and leaned in again, barely brushing his lips against mine and causing my heart to jump. I could feel his body press against mine and suddenly I couldn't think anymore.

* * *

Ginny's POV

* * *

I bit my lip and looked down at my mug.

"Does that make any sense to you?" I asked him, watching him closely. I had just finished my drawn out explanation as to why I had been avoiding him for so long. Now he just sat there, silent as he absorbed my words. "Harry?"

He looked up at me.

"It does make sense to me…" he whispered, reaching out and taking my hand. "Listen Ginny… I want you to know I…" He paused for a moment to take a deep breath and squeezed my hand. "I would _never_ hurt you," he told me with so much conviction that tears came to my eyes.

"I know, Harry… I know you wouldn't… It's just... It was so real," I finished. An overwhelming desire to be as close to him as possible suddenly washed over me and he seemed to pick up on it because he leaned in to me and before I knew it, we were snogging in my mother's kitchen.

Harry made a move to stand and I followed wholeheartedly, needing to feel safe in his arms. We shuffled around until I was up against the counter, Harry's hands resting on the countertop on both sides of me. I had my arms around his neck, running my fingers through his jet black hair. I could feel my heart pounding and I knew he could feel it as well. I felt his hands move to my waist, raising my shirt to brush his cool hands against my skin. I gasped and jerked slightly at the contact, but he kept me close to him. We both needed this. _I_ needed this. My body could still feel the pangs of violation, but my heart was coaxing my body to relax and trust him. To trust that he wouldn't hurt me.

"Harry. Harry, could you come upstairs for a minute," I heard Hermione call.

In that moment, I disliked my friend very much as Harry sighed and pulled away reluctantly. I leaned in and kissed his lips quickly a few times, letting him know that I would be here when he came back down before watching him go up the stairs.

I sighed and turned around, resting my elbows on the counter and looking around the kitchen. Lightening flashed outside and illuminated around the area. Sighing again, I went over to the door to close the blinds when I heard someone come back downstairs. I felt strong arms go around my waist and I couldn't help but smile, turning around.

"Hey," I whispered. "What did Hermione need?"

Harry shook his head.

"Nothing," he muttered before leaning in and kissing me again. I gasped at how quickly things heated up as he pressed me up against the door, holding me close as his lips left mine to travel down my jaw to my neck. I could hear myself gasping for breath, but that didn't matter.

Images suddenly flashed in my mind and I could feel my body grow stiff with realization.

It was too late.

I felt the cold steel glide across my neck and I feel the warm breath raise the hairs on my neck.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ginny."

* * *

Ron's POV

* * *

I never heard Harry come up the stairs and turned beet red when he cleared his throat. Hermione jumped away from me, growing red herself as she tried desperately to button back up her blouse.

"Harry!" she gasped angrily. "Aren't you supposed to be downstairs?" she asked.

He frowned at us, confused for some reason.

"Downstairs? Didn't you just call me?"

I snorted and the quill began to scribble something down. Before it could get to Harry though, Hermione snatched it and glared at me, knowing exactly what I was going to say. She turned to Harry then.

"Why would you think I called you?" She asked curiously.

Harry looked even more confused now. "You mean you didn't call me?"

She nodded and I suddenly felt alarmed.

_Where's Ginny?_

Hermione read the pad of paper and looked up at Harry expectantly. He went pale and the three of us took off down the stairs as fast as we could, fear suddenly taking over the feeling of contentment I had felt only minutes before.

When we got down the stairs, I paused.

The backdoor was wide open, allowing rain to come in. Harry ran over to the door and looked out. Hermione and I looked out as well, but I couldn't see anything.

"GINNY!" Harry shouted urgently, growing paler by the moment.

Hermione started pointing at something by where the small lake should be and suddenly lightening cracked, illuminating everything and allowing us to see someone wading in the rising water.

"GINNY!" Harry screamed and we started off to the lake.

"GINNY!" Hermione yelled.

She suddenly turned around and her eyes grew wide, the waves shoving her around as she tried to stand in the water.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" she screamed frantically. "STAY AWAY FROM ME, ALL OF YOU!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON, GINNY?!" I heard Hermione scream above the deafening boom that swarmed us with even more rain.

"STAY AWAY!" Ginny screamed. To our horror, she actually moved further into the lake. Who did she think we were?

"HARRY!"

It was Hermione who had screamed this. We had almost reached the water's edge when we slid to a halt on the muddy bank. Two men appeared from the woods and stood between us and Ginny.

"Oh no," Harry moaned.

It was like looking into a mirror. The two men standing on the bank looked exactly like Harry and I, but when lightening lit up the place, it was easy to see that the ones on the bank were nothing like us.

"Imposters," I could hear Hermione mutter to herself as she came to stand beside me.

The Harry on the bank waved, glanced behind at him at Ginny, who now looked completely terrorized, pulling on what ever was attached to her wrists as she tried to escape.

"Now, I must admit, Potter. Ginny's a _hell_ of a kisser," he commented. Harry took a step closer to the bank menacingly.

"What do you want?" he growled.

The Ron on the bank smiled.

"We want just wanted you to know that Solomon will not be the last. This will continue, starting with her," he answered, pointing at Ginny. "And ending with you!"

Harry and Hermione looked at me, looking just as confused as I felt.

"What do you want with Ginny and Ron?!" Hermione demanded, moving closer to me.

The Harry on the bank smiled as well and turned around to look at a frightened Ginny.

"Ich hoffe mit meinem ganzen herzen dass Ich kann du sehen noch einmal," he said before the two men burst into flames. The moment they disappeared, the waves began to get bigger, crashing down on Ginny, who momentarily disappeared underwater, before resurfacing, coughing and gasping for breath. **I hope with all my heart that I can see you again. **

"HARRY!" she screamed before disappearing again.

I started off for the water, but the moment I got into the water I had to scramble out before my skin burned off.

"What? What's wrong!?" Hermione asked, standing at the edge, helping Harry off of the ground.

"The water! It's scalding hot!" Harry responded, looking around desperately.

_Oh my God…_

The lake was actually starting to boil. Large bubbles were surfacing and bursting, spraying us with hot water.

"That's not possible," Hermione said over the loud crack of lightening, followed by several booms.

"HERMIONE!"

Harry grabbed Hermione and yanked her out of the way right as the tree came crashing to the ground, two feet away from me.

Suddenly I got an idea. I squinted through the rain to see if Ginny was still there but I couldn't see anything anymore. The rain was coming down in tub loads.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Harry screamed, trying to find her as well.

I turned around and started to sprint back to the Burrow, trying to remember where I had put the items I was looking for.

* * *

Hermione's POV

* * *

I turned around to see if Ron was still there to find him sprinting back to the house.

"RON! RON!" I called to no avail. The deafening thunder made it impossible to communicate.

"HERMIONE! OVER THERE!" Harry screamed, pointing to the middle. There was someone floundering in the water. "GINNY!"

There was a scream and then the figure vanished from sight.

"Ron!" I screamed in surprise when I saw him come back, holding two brooms in his hands.

Harry immediately understood and grabbed one, mounting it and soon the two had disappeared into the darkness. I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage and prayed that the two would be safe.

* * *

Harry's POV

* * *

"I don't see her!" I screamed, flying as close to the surface as possible without burning myself. I could feel the hot spray hit my skin as we struggled to stay in the air.

I glanced over at Ron to see him pointing at something about ten meters. I looked over and could see her floundering around in water. I speed up and reached out my hand.

"TAKE MY HAND!" I shouted, reached out for her.

"HARRY!" she screamed, reaching out for my hand as well. "HARRY, PLEASE!"

I leaned down further and finally grabbed her burning skin. I began to fly higher when she started screaming and I realized we were moving back down to the ground.

"GINNY! GRAB MY LEG!" I told her, looking around for Ron, who seemed to have lost me. Lightening flashed and I could then see what was going on. There were shackles on her ankles and wrists. I reached back for my wand and pointed it at the links. I flicked my wand.

It all happened in a moment.

There was a crack.

I could see sparks explode from the metal links and shoot up until they reached the shackles around Ginny, who screeched.

Suddenly I couldn't think.

The pain coursing through my body was so great that nothing else mattered. It felt as if my brain would explode in any moment.

The broom swayed and suddenly the front of the broom hit the water, sending us tumbling into the water.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to die.

I wanted to breathe.

I could feel Ginny smash into me, sending me further into the water.

The scalding water gnashed at my skin as the water entered my lungs.

I wanted to die...

**A/N: I deserve some credit. This was a _very_ long chapter.**

**mikolina:** I think I left you in more suspense with this one than with the other.

**greenbean16:** Thank you so much!

**Adelaide MacGregor:** Don't worry, I LOVE questions! Ask for anything just don't ask for the ending:-)

**connieewing:** Don't worry, someone will get it sooner or later.

**charma10:** Well, as the story goes on, I'll give you more information on what these people want.

**OzDust:** Don't we all! But alas! He is Hermione's. As for Harry and Ginny, I think I brought them back quite well, doncha think?

**katerina:** Another chapter, another mystery!

**Artemis Glacion:** I know. Don't worry, you won't see anymore of that. Hopefully...

**Wesker888:** I know! I was just looking over the publish dates of my stories and I realized that I've put out at least one story each month since I started Possessions and Obsessions. I know I spelt that wrong, but I don't care at the moment. You'll have to see what happen's next!

**Chapter Tease:**

**Yeah right! After this chapter?!**

**:-)**


End file.
